Page 11 of Undesirable (Devilish #3)

“Come here.” Lucifer towed Riku closer. His fingernail grew into a claw, and he sliced his neck.

“Fix it. You don’t have to bite.” His voice turned seductive, luring Riku the way he did souls to their doom.

Riku knew that and didn’t care. Lucifer was right.

There were ways around biting. His gums still ached, but the moment Lucifer’s blood filled his mouth, Riku forgot everything.

An orgasm exploded through him, coming from his spirit.

He shook as he feared for his sanity and then Lucifer bit him.

Riku heard colors. He saw sound. It was euphoric and what he imagined felt like an LSD trip.

He floated in the clouds as his body jerked with ecstasy.

Riku didn’t miss the sounds Lucifer made or the way he pumped Riku full of cum.

He didn’t miss a thing. Riku had never been more connected in his life.

I love you, my mate. This is no half-life.

As the words brushed his brain, tears filled Riku’s eyes. He was right. This wasn’t half of anything. It was whole-ass perfection. Riku would treasure this for eternity.

Lucifer had no idea how long he slept. That was not something he usually did.

His body needed repair. The house seemed unusually quiet as he padded his way into the sitting room.

Riku sat reading with two heads on his lap.

He took turns mindlessly petting the two.

The contentment filled the air with peace.

Riku glanced up as he entered the room. “Hey. You’re back to full strength.”

Brownie immediately leaped from the couch and went on alert as if expecting admonishment for being lazy.

Lucifer didn’t correct the behavior. In the world of hellhounds, softness got a doggie killed.

While Brownie was mostly protected by his position, others would still push him, trying to take his spot.

Truthfully, he was irreplaceable. He wasn’t Lucifer’s guard.

Lucifer didn’t need a guard. He was Lucifer’s fur baby.

Of course, he would eat nails before he admitted that .

Riku’s smile said he read Lucifer’s thoughts.

Lucifer had to move along. He filled the spot Brownie vacated. “What are you reading?”

“Smut.” Riku smiled unrepentantly. “It’s highly unrealistic. I love it.”

Lucifer chuckled at the happiness in Riku’s voice.

It was the first time he had felt normal in…

he had no idea. Time had stopped having any meaning forever ago.

It seemed so strange for this to be the life he wanted, but it was.

Just his man and two dogs with nothing to do but whatever they chose.

A family. His throat swelled. He had to go to the torture room and remind himself of his position.

Lucifer couldn’t start th inking about Celeste doing this for him. It was so much easier to hate her.

“I have to check on things and make sure no one is getting ideas about overthrowing me. One day out of sight is out of mind for these fuckers.”

Riku smiled. “Okay.” He sounded unbothered.

Lucifer poked at Riku’s brain. To his shock, Riku truly was fine with whatever Lucifer needed to do to keep this mess under control.

He saw Lucifer’s position as just that—his place in the universe.

Beyond that, Riku saw himself as Lucifer’s peace.

That was his place, and he wanted it. He blew Lucifer away.

Lucifer stole a kiss. He took his time, making sure Riku missed him.

Lucifer forced himself to stop before he chose to stay.

An uprising would take way more time than a simple torture session. He had to get to work.

Lucifer stood. “Tell your friend goodbye, Brownie. It’s time to go to work.”

Lucifer! The panicked scream tore through his mind. His gaze shot to Riku. Riku shot to his feet, as if he heard it too.

“Frost.”

They raced to the bedroom. As they reached the bed, he grabbed Riku around the waist. His wings expanded as he shot through the mirror.

He glanced back to see Brownie giving Yuri a leg up before leaping through behind him.

While Lucifer could zap wherever he wanted, he hadn’t given Riku that ability yet and he wouldn’t for anyone else.

Not even Brownie. The more beings that could freely come and go in Hell, the more weaknesses there were to exploit.

Outside the mirror, Riku and Lucifer each snagged a dog and followed the lingering wisps of Frost’s panic to his location with a single thought.

They found themselves at Riku’s house. Gemini danced above the magic fire, inches from being roasted and held by invisible strings. Frost stood by helplessly.

The power that pulsed in the air was nearly enough to bring him to his knees.

At the first glimpse of Jormungandr, Lucifer waved his arm, sending Riku, Brownie, Yuri, Gemini, and Frost away.

The moment he felt them land safely on his bed, he sealed the mirror, trapping them out of Jormungandr’s reach .

A smile exploded across Jormungandr’s face. A beautiful laugh—a laugh of the heavens—poured from Jormungandr. His sky-blue eyes danced with humor. “Do you intend to send this entire town to Hell to keep them from me? What about this whole dumb little planet?”

“If I have to, yes.”

Jormungandr cocked his head to one side and studied Lucifer.

“Oh, good. I’ve left this alone long enough for you to care about something.

That’ll make it so much more fun to destroy this useless place.

” Despite his light blond hair and flawless beauty, he definitely had an evil streak.

Lucifer wondered if he wouldn’t have been a better choice to lead Hell.

Of course, most of the worst things in Hell had been created by Lucifer, so probably not.

“I don’t give a shit if you destroy this place, as stupid as that would be on your part. This planet means nothing to me. But it means everything to Celeste. It’s her favorite toy.”

Irritation flashed in Jormungandr’s eyes. “Still? Ridiculous. She’s like a child with her dolls. Very well. I’ll have to settle with breaking you.” In a flash, Jormungandr was inches from him. Before he made contact, he bounced backward off the very wide chest of Odin.

Lucifer didn’t have time to recover from that shock before he got another. Soft fingers entwined with his. He found Celeste at his side. She didn’t look his way. Her spine was like steel, but she held his hand. He felt her love.

“This has nothing to do with you, Odin. Go back to your low-key alcoholism and leave the trash to me.”

Odin snorted. “This has everything to do with me. Although I know she’s more than capable of handling you, what kind of man would I be if I let my woman fight this battle?”

Lucifer’s eyebrows shot up.

A wicked smile stretched Celeste’s lips.

It was true.

“Odin?” he mouthed.

Her smile grew and her eyes danced with happiness. Well, he couldn’t argue with that.

“Step aside. Lucifer is mine. He’s always been mine.” The way he said ‘mine’ sounded so sickening, it made Lucifer’s stomach churn.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. This whole thing was about Jormungandr’s hurt pride. He was the original grudge holder.

An evil chuckle fell from Lucifer’s lips, mocking Jormungandr. Jormungandr didn’t stand a chance against the three of them, and he knew it.

“How embarrassing for you, Monnie. Why aren’t you humiliated for throwing a fit over getting dicked down?

My plane would freeze before I ever admitted anyone was so good in bed, they had me destroying worlds. ”

Hatred already flashed in Jormungandr’s eyes. It doubled when Odin laughed at the taunt. “You’d know all about destroying things in temper tantrums, wouldn’t you? Isn’t that exactly how you ended up banished?”

Lucifer shrugged. “I’d still be cozy in my fiery, hot bog if you hadn’t stormed your ass down here. I’ve accepted my fate. You should do the same and move along. There’s nothing for you here.”

“Nah. I think I’ll stay. My toy made a little house and a cozy fire here. I can chill until I’ve snatched him away from you and crushed his tiny skull. Maybe I’ll entertain myself by roasting a few townsfolk in the meantime. The quicker you let me have my way, the fewer people that’ll get hurt.”

Ugh. Lucifer really wanted to choke the life from him.

“I seriously doubt you want to feel my wrath, Monnie.” It was the first time he had heard Celeste’s voice in ages.

He fought the way the sound made his eyes sting.

“Everything here is mine. A single hair out of place will have you hanging by your entrails in my study for the rest of eternity. This isn’t a war you want.

When my brother was banished, our deal was met.

You’re the one breaking those terms.” She ran her hand down Odin’s spine. “We will see that contract honored.”

Odin glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

Damn. They were in love. He would not have seen that coming in a million years. He hoped the union endured. Otherwise, this world would see a vampire-werewolf war like none other. Lucifer would likely be forced to unleash a demon army.

Jormungandr ran his tongue over his teeth, obviously doing his best to hold back the rage. “I’ll see my creation returned, then.”

“Over my dead body.”

Celeste squeezed his hand at Lucifer’s growled words. “Riku’s soul has been bound to Lucifer. He’s no longer yours.”

An evil-looking smile stretched Jormungandr’s lips.

“Is that how we’re playing this?” He disappeared and reappeared almost instantly.

Fen, a Scottish vampire who had been sent to protect Frost, hung from his hand like a rag doll.

“Then I think I’ll take this one.” He was gone again before anyone could protest. Not that Lucifer cared, as long as he was gone.

Celeste pinched the spot between her eyes. She dropped her hand, looking tired. “One battle at a time, I suppose. I doubt he’s dumb enough to harm him.”

“You look beautiful.” He didn’t mean to say it. The power of seeing his twin again was too much. He couldn’t think straight.

A sad smile touched her lips. “Vain, as always. You know it’s like looking in a mirror.”

A bark of laughter burst from Lucifer. It was the most Celeste response he had ever heard.

“I miss you. ”

Her confession had the laughter dying in his throat. She didn’t stop.

“I know you can’t see it. It’s easier to hate me. But I’ve always done everything I can to protect you. You can’t know the relief I felt when I realized Riku is your other half.”

There she went. Celeste always claimed the knowledge just came to her—like visions. Her pairings weren’t always strategic. Personally, he thought she was just so damn good at her job that it was mostly subconscious now. She cast a loving glance Odin’s way. “You know me, I just know.”

Lucifer nearly sighed in relief. It seemed Odin was hers. After all these lifetimes, a god pairing had revealed itself. They wouldn’t be destroying worlds.

Her shoulders squared. “I can’t stay, but I’m kind of glad for Jormungandr’s tantrum over your mating. It let me see you. I still don’t know how he found out about you claiming Riku, but he likely had some system for when his weapon was engaged.” She smiled. “I knew Frost would save you.”

Fuck. She really did always have a plan that was a hundred steps ahead of everyone else, even for the brother she knew was a monster.

Celeste kissed his cheek. “I love you.”

She didn’t wait for a response. Her fingers linked with Odin’s and she was gone.

Lucifer stared at nothing, trying his damnedest to feel nothing.

“I love you too.” His chest hurt. It felt like he was dying.

It took him a second to realize it was because he had sealed Riku in Hell.

His other half was behind a veil. That was the pain he felt.

That was what he had to tell himself. It was time to leave this place behind and let Celeste handle her realm.

Lucifer was tired. He just wanted back the normal Riku had brought into his life.